1. A Web "page" is not just a page.

By convention, the basic unit of the Web is called a page. Unlike a paper page, though, a Web page's apparent length and width can vary according to the amount of information it contains, the viewer's browser and computer type, the browser's configuration, and the size to which the viewer has adjusted the browser window. A Web page can contain text--but also pictures, recorded sound, and motion video. And any of these elements can be made to cause an action or display another Web page through links.

So while you may often use Web pages to present text, and the principles of good book or graphic design will often apply, remember that your design space on a Web page is both more flexible and more unruly than it is on paper. The Web is not just a hypertext but a hypermedia medium, and it presents its own design challenges and opportunities.

2. Viewer control is becoming creator control.

HTML is a markup language. Like other markup languages, it breaks a document up into structural elements and provides formatting attributes, or tags, that can be assigned to each element. The attributes control how pages look.

The originators of HTML stressed the viewer's ability to define the way element tags display on the browser. To show emphasis, for example, the Mosaic browser can be set to display either italics or underscoring.

The explosive growth of the Web has changed the game. Web designers, and browser developers such as Netscape, now twist and extend the limited HTML tools to try to approach the creative control provided by page layout and presentation software. They are pushing the evolution of the Web toward more sophisticated formatting capabilities. Whether these capabilities become part of the core HTML specification is still a matter of heated controversy, but they will come in some form.

Most viewers now recognize the value added by document designers. It would be pointless to attempt to force the enormous and varied content of the Web into a uniform format using browser controls. And even if viewers wanted to customize the look of documents one at a time using browser settings, the time required would be prohibitive.

This market-driven trend toward creator control of the appearance of Web pages will continue. For now you, as a Web document designer, will be challenged by the constraints of an imperfect tool. But things will get better.